Praying for Unity

Uniformity is often false unity and a place where politics are played, relationships take a back seat, and the most important thing is for everyone to look a part rather than be apart of something amazing.

Unity in chrsitianty is very important. it is something jesus prayed for

John 17:21 “21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

Yet it can be one of the most difficult things to truly have between followers of Jesus.

Why?

Character- Christian with a negative attitude

Have you ever met someone who is always negative? it could be a sunny day…but it’s gonna rain at some point

summer is beautiful…but winter is coming

the cup isn’t just half empty, it got that way because someone came in and stole the water…

I’m sad to say that some of this negative attitude exists inside of Christian Culture. However it would seem as those the majority of people in the world find themselves with a negative bias.

I made sure ot read up on this but then I thought about it.

If someone is giving you a performance review and they tell you 100 things you do right and give you 1 thing to work on, which do you focus on?

If news outlets are going to continue keep ratings up they have to keep the negative news in front of people. why? becuase slow progress and good news doesn’t get the same attention or reaction.

Problem-Christians focus on what they ain’t

When followers of Jesus give into the negativity we hinder the impact Jesus has in our lives and can have on the lives of those around us.

A focus on the bad thigns of a life is a neglect of the good gifts from God in this life.

How it plays out in the worst way in Christiandom is a focus on all of the things we are not rather than what we are.

Have you ever heard preaching where you walk out knowingg more about the other people and churches around them rather than the church you attended? You can hear about the songs they don’t sing, the bible versions they wont’ read, or the methods they won’t use but you don’t get taught what they are about or much of what the Bible says

Even in churches where that doesn’t take place, there are still individual Christians that will do the same. The moment you mention anything that potentialyl sounds like something bad according to you, your immediately expressing how its bad and why they should stop even though you don’t have all the facts.

Now, lisdten, I’m not talking about someone who ays jesus isn’t God, or someone who says hell isn’t real, or that Salvation is obtained by anything other than faith, we will say something then. We will point to the bible and talk with grace adn truth about that.

But when another gospel preaching and bible believing church down the road plays different music and does things differently, they are not oru enemy they are our friends.

When another believer does the same, they are not your enemy.

Agitated- division, anger, poor spirit

When we become this person that focuses on what we are not we become a person that is divisive and usually full of anger.

Let me give you an example.

2 volunteers: One of them i tell how I like their shirt the other i dont based on something on it. (color, design, etc.) how i don’t wear that or i do.

now notivce a couple things. Did my tone of voice change? Did my face express anger towards them? but wahts the feeling when that is said?

Now watch this: insulting with differences.

Now what? was I bringing us together with that?

ok, and now last one…ready…watch this…

say hi, ignore the differences, talk about Jesus

how’d that work out?

what if i had tried to talk about jesus when i had insulted him? would that have worked? What about when I had pointed out that i wouldn’t wear what hes wearing? Do you think he would have been receptive…

wait, even better, would he be willing to work with me to reach more people for JEsus?

When seeking the kingdom of God, your going to find people in that kingdom who do things differently than you, but different doesn’t mean wrong. being divisive is wrong.

again, let me reiterate sin is sin, heresy is heresy, and should be identified but there is a respectful way that can be done so as not to burn the bridge they need to walk across to know Jesus more and grow as the Holy Spirit Leads them.

When we try to do the job of the Holy Spirit with people we will get frustrated and upset as we seek to force something that can only be worked from the inside out.

Guide- Paul and Jesus

prayed for Christians to not have this divisive spirit amongst them, but to find unity.

This was also Jesus’ prayer as well.

Have you heard of the Lord’s prayer?

Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…

Jesus never prayed that. The most extensive prayer we have of Jesus is in John 17.

John 17:20–21 “20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

John 17:23 “23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

The word perfect there in verse 23 is best understood as complete.

Jesus desires those who follow Him to be united on the foundation of the gospel not preference.

Yet we often find ourselves focused on preferences or gray areas making ourselves so distinct and separated from everyone that we are distinctly separating ourselves from people that don’t need to be separated from.

That doesn’t lead to unity. That doesn’t lead to kingdom impact.

I want to give oyu some perspective today as to why unity is so important.

Let’s ask What are the reasons we should pray for unity?

Journey

1. We are stronger together than apart

Romans 12:5 “5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”

Our bodies are made for all the parts to work together.

The only time I have seen a body part work when separated from the rest is Thing from the Adams family.

We are stronger as followers of Jesus when there is a small church for people that like small churches.

We are stronger when there are large churches for people that like large churches. We are stronger with churches that sing hymns, churches that sing contemporary music, and a churches that blend it.

We are stronger as followeers of Jesus when there is diversity in the family becuase the family of God is Diverse.

Every Tribe and Tongue remember?

There are churches in Bristol hat will reach people we never will for various reasons that have nothing to do with the gospel. and i celebrate those churches.

I want you to celebrate those churches and the people whoa re there. The pastors who preach differently than I do, the worship teams or even song leaders that lead worship differently than we do.

I celebrate gospel centered doctrinally sound churches and what God can do through them. We need them and they need us.

What is the easiest way to defeat an enemy’s forces? to divide them. to cut off resources and communication between them.

If you don’t think the devil is trying to do that with in-fighting between christians with topics like bible versions, song choices, attire, and other preferential things your crazy.

I made a conscious choice as pastor of our choice a few years ago to not focus on the things that preferentially divide us.

Why? We have bigger issues to worry about.

look at this infographic.

(((Insert infographic here)))

1 in 7 persecuted worldwide, 365 million 1 in 5 persecuted in Africa

2 in 5 persecuted in Asia

4,998 murdered in 2023

14,766 churches and christian property attacked

4,125 detained

295,120 displaced

and that doesn’t include the discussion on people dying and going to hell

but we get hung up on trivial matters.

It’s time to grow up, it’s time to see others that believe the gospel of Jesus is the only way to have a relationship with God with some other quarks as friends and not enemies.

When we do this, We reach more people for Christ locally which allows us to impact more people globally.

We won’t impact the world until we can impact our neighbor.

2. The world needs to see Jesus’ love

Romans 15:7 “7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.”

Romans 15:7 CSB

7 Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God.

To receive one another is to welcome or accept one another.

Have you ever felt like you weren’t accepted by someone or a group of people?

When you aren’t accepted do you believe it’s becuase your misunderstood?

There may be truth to that

However did you know that you can be accepted but not understood?

And, you can accept people without understanding them?

I read this by one author:

In a sense, bestowing acceptance becomes about you and your ego, while truly understanding the other nurtures and deepens the relationship between two people. I am not suggesting that we should withhold our acceptance until we have a full understanding of the Other, but rather that our acceptance is the foundation and starting point for a conversation to pursue understanding, connection, and an effort to hear another’s experience.

Accepting the individual agency of another to live and be who they are and not who you think they should be opens your world to a whole new potential of interactions and friendship.

When we choose to accept without understanding, we are saying “I can accept you as a person, as a follower of Jesus, as valued by by God, without understanding or ( and don’t miss this) agreeing with all that you do.”

Now let me get a little mroe practical with you concerning acceptance and love when it comes to doctrines of scripture.

Last week i went to a pastors meeting I’ve been invited to for years. It has people from different backgrounds in it. I didn’t walk in with a list of questions they had to answer before I spoke to them. I asked the guy who invited me “do they believe the gospel and Jesus is the only way to Heaven?” He said yes.

So i went. When we were praying it became apparent I didn’t agree with everyone there.

When the bible study portion was taught, there was some disagreement from me abotu how the gentlemen came to his conclusion and point from the text.

As a church, will we seek to do ministry with most of the people I met there, probably not.

As a pastor can I be around and that? Probably not often but that’s less about them and mroe about how I spend my time.

As a Christian can I pray for them to reach people I won’t? AS long as they preach the gospel, I am for them.

Because I know if they preach the gospel but misunderstand other parts of scripture, the I’ll see them in heaven one day and they’ll know their wrong then.

However, if a chruch preaches a false Gospel, if a church preaches heresy, something that blasphemes Jesus and points anyone, any system, or any thing in a place where only Jesus should be, and then I’m going to I’m going to pray for them to close their doors and not spread their lies.

How do I interact with someone who preaches a false gospel?

Well, first I’m going to tell you to be sure of what you believe base don the Bible.

Second, you don’t have to be mean. You can tell someone “I disagree with you.” and tell them how bad of a person they are.

triuth is, their hearts are as wicked as yours. they need Jesus as much as you do. And when you decide to make your life and conversations about the things that are different about you, then you decide to divide.

This doesn’t mean you don’t ever speak to a person about your differences but if you don’t nuture a relationship full of grace, you won’t earn the opportunity to speak truth.

Is this easy? no. Is there a cookie cutter method to make it happen? no.

will it be messy? probably. I wonder if Jesus time around sinners and publicans at parties where there was alchohol and drunkedness was messy?

probably…but you know what He had?

GRACE

3. Great prayers will be answered

Matthew 18:19–20 “19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

This passage of scripture comes right after Jesus speaks about the reconsilaiton of believers becuase of an offense.

If two shall agree on one thing, I agree with the pastors in the area that believe Jesus is the way the truth and the life and that no man comes to father by Him. I believe in the gospel and that we are eternally saved by grace through faith.

When we believe that, we can pray for God to make it so the people of Bristol not only hear but receive the gospel in a great way.

We can’t pray together in that way if we don’t agree. We can’t agree if all we focus on are the things that we disagree on.

We can’t agree if all we have are negative thoughts and attitudes.

I don’t want to focus on our disagreemetns unless God focused on it. I don’t want to fight believers, I want to fight the enemy. And the enemy isn’t another church or believer that has different preferences.

Can I tell you the enemy isn’t the militant atheist, it isn’t the LGBTQ movement, or an opposing political party. The enemy is diefintely not another gospel preaching church that has different preferences than us.

people may be used by the enemy but if I continue to see them as the enemy and not the father of lies, the great deciever, the devil himself, then I will attack them as though they are the enemy and the real enemy will never be hindered from continueing to do what He does.

I want to agree with people as much as I can. I’ll talk to people about sin and I’ll stand firm on the truth of God’s Word but that doesn’t mean I have to be angry, negative, or divisive.

I may not be best friends with some of those people listed but that doesn’t mean I can’t be friendly.

Resolution: focus on the gospel

How doe we make that happen? We choose to focus on the gospel and not to focus on being everyones Holy Spirit.

I can’t change the hearts of man. I can’t force someone to follow jesus or change their thinking. I can love them and allow God to work in their hearts. I can fimly and kindly express my faith or call otu sin when needed but I don’t have to be a jerk about it.

I can pray for divisiveness to be removed from my heart and to bee what Paul calls a minister or servant of reconcillation for the gospel of Jesus.

The truth of the gospel will divide but that doesn’t mean I have to be divisive.

Impact: Negative: known for what we hate, less of an impact for the kingdom Positive: people know Him becuase of our love